zucchini fritters

When my children were babies and I was deep in the woes of sleep deprivation, I looked forward to the days when I would reap my independence again. When I could make time for personal appointments and lunch with my friends in the middle of the afternoon. When I could once again, be spontaneous and impulsive and able to take some much needed 'me time.' But motherhood changed me. It’s not that I don’t need those things anymore and it’s definitely not that I don’t want those things. They’re simply not as urgent as I once thought they were. It took me a long time to stop feeling guilty about ‘wishing time away.’  (Although really, that’s an awful saying.) 

I’ve learned that it is absolutely okay to not love every single moment of parenthood. That, part of the journey is in fact, having feelings of sheer frustration and also pure glee. Sometimes simultaneously. It’s not about protecting the erroneous notion that parenthood is always wonderful. And I never want to be the kind of person that cares more about the image of perfection, than actually living my life in its’ everyday candor. In fact, the conscious decision to abandon those ideals is what makes us real. It’s fundamentally, what makes us good parents.

Today is the very last 1st day of school for me. As a mother I mean. My youngest is entering grade primary and the entire thing has me feeling a tad flustered. It's the end of this chapter in my life and that seems so final and desolate. I can’t tangibly connect the fact that he’s old enough to actually be in school and that he’s about to embark on a journey that will last forever. He’ll learn to conceptualize and decipher and grow and discover. He’ll find his niche-his place in the world: The things that make him passionate and true.

And as bitter as his absence will be, I’m also excited for all of the wonderful stories I’m going to hear. About what he learned and who he met and what he did. I can’t wait for him to wrap his arms around me at the end of the day and tell me about all the new and exciting things he wants to do ‘ when he grows up.’ And after school, I imagine we’ll sit at the kitchen table and I’ll make him a snack. He’ll tell me tales about his day. About who he sat with at lunch and what he did at recess and about all the lovely little games he played and all the lovely little things he learned.

I really can’t wait for that part.

P.S You’re not losing your mind. Zucchini fritters have absolutely nothing to do with school. It’s not something I’m going to smoosh into my childrens’ lunch box and then rave about how they eat absolutely everything. Au contraire. This post was intedned to be about ‘back to school breakfast cookies' but alas, I didn’t document the process so that recipe will have to wait. In the meantime, these fritters are super tasty and the ultimate no-fuss dinner. You can substitute almost any herb. It was pouring yesterday and so I grabbed whatever garden herbs I could get my hands on. Had I not photographed them, I’m not sure I’d be able to tell you which ones were used. Trusty old camera says chives, oregano and thyme.

Comments

[Sam Agar]

A beautiful post, Nicholetta, and how bittersweet a time of year this is for us moms with little ones entering school for the first time. I cannot WAIT to try the zucchini fritters! They will go perfectly with some corn on the cob and maybe some garlic-grilled chicken skewers...